ghues
Omono
Late Summer Transplanting - Leap of Faith?
Being around here for a while, I'll give some background and thoughts to provide you a better understanding of my methods and goals.
Leap of faith.....maybe ...but not so much.......if favourable conditions arise...especially when it comes to yamadori collecting and their first "repotting" (transplanting). Much trial and error over the last 15 years has provided me some much treasured guidance on how I can keep my collection in a healthy state. Much of this knowledge has also come through decades of experience from my local bonsai friends, who have gladly shared their techniques/treatments.....which interestingly enough, have changed over time.
So, when it comes to the classic "repotting" I've stuck to spring which for us is March-April...(sorry Vance no Mugo's in the collection.... yet).
However when it comes to what I'll label as transplanting - taking a yamadori from its first recovery home (grow pot and/or grow bed) to its first training pot.....I often do it in late summer IF conditions are favourable.
These are; that the tree is very healthy, (top and root growth) the weather (and forecast) is favourable, I have the pot and soil components.
Note. The majority of my tree collection is yamadori (from; the wild, urban, transportation corridors, landscape and abandoned farmland).
The one I'll describe here is a Mountain Hemlock (Mtn Hemi) collected in the late summer of 2013 so it's just completed its third growing season in captivity.
After collecting the entire rootball (no removal of any original soil - a thick matted duff/forest floor/humus layer overtop of a sandy loam) went into a wooden training pot (used 6" cedar fencing boards) with a 1/4" screen on the bottom, the bottom of the "box" had a layer of coarser pumice, red Lava and SeaSoil, a layer of medium sized mix, then the root ball and a top dressing of the mix.
Tree went through some shock in 2014 with a small amount of growth but the last two years it grew really well. Recently our summer heat period has come to and end (hot for this neck of woods even breaking a few daily highs lol) so this years growth had hardened off and a cool moist system(s) was forecasted to last for the next two weeks.
Observations have shown that after the summer heat they start another period of root activity building up its reserves for next years growth.
So my general strategy is, #1 survival -check, #2 good health-check, #3 transplant -check, #4 survival/growth and then #5 "design". I don't fret about a final design at this stage as I'll be looking at it for a long while (possibly 2 more years) trying to figure that out. Like many my Mtn Hemi's this one has long twisted snakelike branches (almost tentacles).
Of course I haven't down this every year but this season seems to be very favourable.......Anyone else out there doing something similar?
Here are a couple of shots of the tree in its grow box and the training pot.
Being around here for a while, I'll give some background and thoughts to provide you a better understanding of my methods and goals.
Leap of faith.....maybe ...but not so much.......if favourable conditions arise...especially when it comes to yamadori collecting and their first "repotting" (transplanting). Much trial and error over the last 15 years has provided me some much treasured guidance on how I can keep my collection in a healthy state. Much of this knowledge has also come through decades of experience from my local bonsai friends, who have gladly shared their techniques/treatments.....which interestingly enough, have changed over time.
So, when it comes to the classic "repotting" I've stuck to spring which for us is March-April...(sorry Vance no Mugo's in the collection.... yet).
However when it comes to what I'll label as transplanting - taking a yamadori from its first recovery home (grow pot and/or grow bed) to its first training pot.....I often do it in late summer IF conditions are favourable.
These are; that the tree is very healthy, (top and root growth) the weather (and forecast) is favourable, I have the pot and soil components.
Note. The majority of my tree collection is yamadori (from; the wild, urban, transportation corridors, landscape and abandoned farmland).
The one I'll describe here is a Mountain Hemlock (Mtn Hemi) collected in the late summer of 2013 so it's just completed its third growing season in captivity.
After collecting the entire rootball (no removal of any original soil - a thick matted duff/forest floor/humus layer overtop of a sandy loam) went into a wooden training pot (used 6" cedar fencing boards) with a 1/4" screen on the bottom, the bottom of the "box" had a layer of coarser pumice, red Lava and SeaSoil, a layer of medium sized mix, then the root ball and a top dressing of the mix.
Tree went through some shock in 2014 with a small amount of growth but the last two years it grew really well. Recently our summer heat period has come to and end (hot for this neck of woods even breaking a few daily highs lol) so this years growth had hardened off and a cool moist system(s) was forecasted to last for the next two weeks.
Observations have shown that after the summer heat they start another period of root activity building up its reserves for next years growth.
So my general strategy is, #1 survival -check, #2 good health-check, #3 transplant -check, #4 survival/growth and then #5 "design". I don't fret about a final design at this stage as I'll be looking at it for a long while (possibly 2 more years) trying to figure that out. Like many my Mtn Hemi's this one has long twisted snakelike branches (almost tentacles).
Of course I haven't down this every year but this season seems to be very favourable.......Anyone else out there doing something similar?
Here are a couple of shots of the tree in its grow box and the training pot.